Imagine experiencing life not as the gender dictated by birth but as one of your own design. In Trans Figured, Brian Belovitch shares his true story of life as a gender outlier and his dramatic journey through the jungle of gender identity. Brian has the rare distinction of coming out three times: first as a queer teenager; second as a glamorous transgender woman named Tish, and later, Natalia Gervais; and finally as an HIV-positive gay man surviving the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. From growing up in a barely-working-class first-generation immigrant family in Fall River, Massachusetts, to spinning across the disco dance floor of Studio 54 in New York City . . . from falling into military lock-step as the Army wife of a domineering GI in Germany to having a brush with fame as Natalia, high-flying downtown darling of the boozy and druggy pre-Giuliani New York nightclub scene, Brian escaped many near-death experiences. Trans Figured chronicles a life lived on the edge with an unforgettable cast of characters during a dangerous and chaotic era. Rich with drama and excitement, this no-holds-barred memoir tells it all. Most importantly, Brian's candid and poignant story of recovery shines a light on the perseverance of the human spirit.

When Patricia Sandoval worked at Planned Parenthood, they told her, "Never tell a soul what you see behind this door." So now she is telling the world. Transfigured is, however, so much more than a compelling tool in the hands of pro-life and chastity advocates. It is the riveting life story of a young girl who felt abandoned by her parents, and after three abortions and work at an abortion clinic, became a methamphetamine addict living on the streets--until a miracle occurred.

At first glance the Markan transfiguration scene (Mk. 9:2-8) is all about light, sound and spectacle. Commentators see revealed in this scene a sparkling vision of God's glory-the light that banishes the shadow of incomprehension and by which the hidden truth of the Gospel finally becomes clear. But have commentators been blinded by their dazzling evaluations of Mark's theology? For, despite all the splendor and sparkle, the Markan transfiguration remains a difficult scene to interpret. Transfigured asks what would be seen if one were to squint past the sun-like glory that dominates this vision. Wilson focuses on the problematic elements, the gaps and inconsistencies of the scene, and re-evaluates them in order to re-read the transfiguration from an altered perspective. The theoretical work of Jacques Derrida, particularly his notion of "otherness," which draws together and realigns the reader (subject), the reading (method), and what is read (text), will be central to the orientation of this re-reading. Ultimately, the transfiguration story can be seen ably to accommodate readings that challenge traditionally prescribed metaphysical structures and presuppositions. In the end, the application of Derridean theory issues its own challenges to traditional scholarship in such a way that the approach to the Markan transfiguration and the theology one inevitably brings to it, require a certain amount of reformulation.

2023 Catholic Media Association First Place Award, Mysticism In A World Transfigured: The Mystical Journey, Philip Sheldrake demonstrates the importance of the mystical dimension of religious belief and practice. Using the words of the great theologian, Karl Rahner, Sheldrake makes the case that the Christian of the future will be either a mystic or nothing at all. In our contemporary world, this judgment applies equally to other religions as well. After chapters on the meaning of “mysticism” and the connection between mysticism and beliefs, Sheldrake describes important dimensions of mystical writings, illustrated by a range of examples. These are “Love and Desire,” “Knowing and Unknowing,” “Wonder and Beauty,” “Mysticism and Everyday Practice,” and “The Mystic as Radical Prophet.” Finally, the book briefly explores why mysticism fascinates so many people in our modern times.

In Not Yet Transfigured, Eric Pankey extends his poetic oeuvre in ways simultaneously foreseeable and fresh. This is an essential volume for every lover of contemporary poetry.

Revision of the author's thesis (Th.D.)--Harvard University, 2008.

Danto argues that recent developments in art--in particular the production of works that cannot be told from ordinary things--make urgent the need for a new theory of art. He demonstrates the relationship between philosophy and art and the connections that hold between art, social institutions, and art history.

Today there is a growing eagerness to enter into a deeper knowledge of the Mass, the sacraments and the whole life of the Church. A particularly rewarding insight comes from a penetration of the actual words, gestures and symbols used in worship. "The Church wants us to stop and look and be enriched by the glories she presents for our contemplation," writes Sister Laurentia. "The liturgy is God's art. For his material he uses our familiar earth, air, fire and water. In this manner our world undergoes a revelation, an epiphany-it becomes a transfigured world." More importantly, God shapes and uses these materials in order to transfigure man. Through the sacramental power of the liturgy, God comes down to man, and lifts man up to Him; to a sharing in His divine life. In order to gain an insight into the wonders of God's transfigured world, Sister Laurentia examines the relationship of art to the liturgy, and the structure of the liturgy itself. The result is an inspiring, readable book that will give the reader a deeper understanding of the beauty and meaning of worship.